ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Joint Operations Command (JOC) on Tuesday announced its forces had killed nine senior members of the Islamic State (ISIS), including the group’s top leader in Iraq, in an operation in Hamrin Mountains.

The operation was carried out by Iraqi counter-terrorism forces in the early hours of Tuesday, following “precise technical follow-up that lasted for several months” and exchange of intelligence with the US-led international coalition, according to a statement from the JOC.

At least nine suspected ISIS members, including the group’s so-called “Iraq Governor” and several other senior leaders, were killed in the operation. Large quantities of weapons, ammunition, and equipment were also seized, and several workshops for booby-traps and manufacturing explosive devices were destroyed, the statement added.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani announced the results of the operation on X, congratulating the Iraqi people and commending the security forces for their efforts.

“I congratulate our honorable people on the killing of the so-called (Governor of Iraq) in the terrorist organization ISIS, and (8) of the organization’s senior leaders, in the heroic and qualitative operation of the Counter-Terrorism and National Security Service, under the supervision of the joint operations, which targeted the terrorist hideouts in the Hamrin Mountains,” wrote Sudani.

The premier reiterated support for the security forces in their pursuit of ISIS remnants, stressing that “there is no place for terrorists in Iraq” and that the forces will continue their operations until the country is “cleansed” from ISIS.

Despite being territorially defeated in 2017, ISIS militants continue to pose a security threat in Iraq through hit-and-run operations and attacks on remote areas. Iraqi forces have intensified their efforts to eliminate these remnants, especially in provinces like Kirkuk, Anbar, and Nineveh, where ISIS cells remain active. 

The JOC announced on Sunday that four suspected ISIS members, including a senior commander, were killed in an airstrike by Iraqi forces in a “targeted operation” in Salahaddin province.